


it's gonna be my year

by cuzmuffin



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Karaoke, M/M, Songfic, hsm au, idk its just cute malum, its the cliche start of something new karaoke scene, lbr everyone else has probably already done this trope, thats right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 15:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3072335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuzmuffin/pseuds/cuzmuffin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ok, Calum thinks. This isn't so bad. He can do this. The other boy has a really nice voice. It's actually really, really, pretty, like, fucking adorable and sweet, but still low and gravelly at times, like he's not quite used to singing this loudly."</p><p>Or, Calum and Michael meet when they're forced to sing karaoke together during a New Year's Eve party and Calum hopes it's the start of something new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's gonna be my year

**Author's Note:**

> hsm au bc its new years 
> 
> inspired by High School Musical's "Start of Something New"
> 
> but punked-up with All Time Low's "Weightless"

Calum doesn't know why he's being forced to go to a  _child's_  party. So he's 16. It doesn't mean he's not allowed to know and witness what grown ups do on New Year's Eve. But unfortunately his parents and his sister insist on babying him until the end of time, so he's stuck at a lame "teen party" that really only consists of pre-teens because all the real ones know where the real parties are at. 

Except Calum. 

He's stuck sitting on an empty couch in the party room, while the people around him either dancing around the karaoke stage, flailing their arms as balloons and streamers rain from the ceiling. There's no legitimate dance floor, just one big stage for karaoke and then a bunch of couches and lamps and lots of strung lights. It's lame, according to Calum.

He wishes he could spend New Year's with his friends back home in Sydney, Ashton and Luke, where they could've jammed to All Time Low and snuck cold bottles of beer from his fridge. It would've been a hell of a lot cooler than sitting here, alone.  

It's only 9 pm, for fuck's sake. And of course Calum's phone is already at 10 percent battery because iPhones are shitty and Calum doesn't know anyone else at this godforsaken mountain lodge. He might as well've brought a book to read. 

(Maybe Calum remembers seeing a few kids around his age, such as a tall boy with pale skin and an embarrassingly long blond fringe, and  _maybe_ Calum kind of stalked him (by stalked, just kind of looked around for him during breakfast and stuff to see if he could strike up a conversation with the other boy and maybe tried to discreetly follow him to the hotel pool once or twice) because honestly he was the only kid his age and he just felt so uncool hanging out alone this entire vacation. He wished his parents would've let at least Ashton come with. But that's beside the point.)

_"This could be the start, of something new-"_

There's a duet on stage now, two teenagers, a boy and girl a bit older than him, who apparently thought singing a cheesy love song would be appropriate entertainment for a New Year's party. Calum scoffs when the girl almost falls off stage when she nervously backs away from the boy.

Already bored, Calum glances up, trying to see if the line for the fruit punch has gotten any shorter (it hasn't) when he notices a boy (his boy!) standing a little apart from the crowd. It's definitely the same kid he's been trying to keep tabs on out of boredom, and nothing else. The kid's got on black skinny jeans just like Calum and an oversized black sweatshirt that makes his pale skin glow. He looks kind of like a kitten with his sweater paws.

Calum's weird stalking is interrupted by a girl poking him in the shoulder. "What?" He tries not to snap at her.

"That guy's talking to you," she says, pointing up. "Couple's karaoke. You're up!"

Calum follows her finger and suddenly realizes he's got a spotlight on him. He squints and sees that the 'DJ' or whatever of the party is talking to  _him._

"Come on up, don't be shy!" 

 _What the fuck?_ Calum suddenly realizes what he's being called up for- there's no other explanation.

"No, no," he says, shaking his head at the spotlight. "I can't sing."

The announcer just gives a hard smile, and Calum knows he's not going to give up. Why did his parents have to make him go here? All of a sudden he's regretting this entire trip. 

It's not like he's bad at singing, or shy or something. He has no qualms about jamming to old punk songs on his guitar with Luke and Ashton. But he really doesn't want to be forced into singing with an absolute stranger.

Calum groans when the guy runs all the way to Calum's seat on the couch and tries to heave him up. "Fine, fine. I'm coming." 

The few kids paying attention the scene unfolding cheer, and Calum instantly hates them. He climbs up onto the stage and takes the microphone reluctantly. They're picking their next victim now. Calum almost closes his eyes, not wanting to see where the spotlight will land, but as he's gazing out into the crowd he suddenly sees the pale boy he may or may not have referred to as a kitten, his eyes wide and mouth open, staring at Calum. Okay, that's not weird at all. But then Calum realizes that he's not staring at  _him,_ he's staring at the spotlight shining in his face. 

Calum's heart instantly drops to his stomach. He needs to get ahold of himself. He tries to lecture himself like his football coach back in Sydney would whenever his head wasn't in the game, but he's weirdly afraid of meeting the boy.

Speaking of the boy. He's shaking his head, trying to refuse the announcer just like Calum had, but eventually gives in, his eyes still wide and fearful. 

"I don't sing in public," Calum hears the boy murmur when he jumps up onto stage next to him.

Calum thinks of saying something humorous to break the ice, but the boy's not looking at him anymore, he's staring out at the crowd. In fact, the boy looks a lot more frightened than anyone should really be about singing to a bunch of lame pre-teens. Calum actually thinks it's kind of cute.

"Here," the announcers says to them. "You can choose your song."

Calum grabs the book and holds it up to the other boy so they can read the songs. There's a lot of Britney Spears and Queen, but Calum skims through all the songs until he finds one that isn't too bad. 

"This okay?" 

The boy's eyes light up with recognition. "Yeah, sure."

Calum hands the book to the announcer and after a few awkward moments of silence, the opening chords to "[Weightless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpG3BxRctQ4)" by All Time Low ring through the room. 

 _"Manage me, I'm a mess,"_ Calum starts singing, hoping he's not off-key. He gets through the verse pretty well (the crowd sort of laughs when he doesn't know what to do at the bleeped out curse words and just doesn't say anything), and when the chorus comes around the other boy starts singing along. 

_"Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year."_

Okay, Calum thinks. This isn't so bad. He can do this. The blonde boy has a really nice voice. It's actually really, really, pretty, like, fucking adorable and sweet, but still low and gravelly at times, like he's not quite used to singing this loudly.

When the second verse starts, the boy looks a little shy but still sings, his lone voice ringing through the crowd.  _"Make believe that I impress."_

Calum's either looking at the screen with the lyrics or the boy. In fact, he can't seem to look away from the other boy's eyes for some reason; its like if he does, the moment will break and he'll realize that he's singing a crappy punk song in front of people he doesn't know, so he keeps looking at his pale green irises and tries not to break pitch.

Who would've known the other boy's actually really good at harmonizing? As the song continues, he seems to lose his previously shy attitude about singing in public. His voice is soft but sweet, layering over Calum's effortlessly.

Calum doesn't like to brag, but he considers himself pretty musical too, so he attempts a few runs in between singing the words of the bridge, and is surprised when he actually doesn't sound half-bad. 

It's the chorus now, but the soft chorus. Calum's grinning now, moving a little closer to the boy as they both deepen their voices to match. They're even making cheesy arm movements to match the words, not taking this seriously at all. 

The crowd seems to have grown, clapping under them. Calum feels a little smug, but at the same time a little awkward. He wishes he had his guitar or something just so he could occupy his hands, so he could jam along to the guitars in the song. He distracts himself by looking at the other boy, who looks a little at home on stage now. He definitely doesn't look like the nervous kitten from before.

Calum shakes his head slightly and tries not to miss the beat when he comes back in for the last chorus. They sing loudly, unafraid, and Calum loses himself in the words.

Then the song is over and Calum is now realizing that the crowd around them is cheering and clapping like crazy, like the boy and Calum's awkward duet was the highlight of everyone's evening. Calum grins, almost a little proud of his and the other boy's performance. 

He moves closer to the boy, shouting a little to be heard. "I'm Calum."

The boy smiles back. "Michael."  

* * *

 

"You sing really fucking well," Calum says. He shoves his hands in his pockets to warm them up. 

He and Michael are standing outside in the cold. Calum tries not to shiver too much, but his blue collared shirt is actually pretty thin. The party finally put an end to karaoke in favor of rushing outside to watch the fireworks as the clock counted down to the New Year. 

"Thanks." Michael pulls the sleeves of his sweater over his hands and wipes his snow away from his fringe. "You too."

"So. All Time Low fan?" Calum tries not to wince at how lame and obvious his question was, but Michael doesn't seem to mind.

"Yeah, well. I'm actually thinking of dying my hair like Jack Barakat," he answers, touching his fringe again.

Calum's eyes widen. "No way. That would so sick."

"Really?" 

"Definitely. I mean, you won't ever be able to match up to his God-like sexiness, but it'd be pretty cute." 

Michael pouts adorably at that. Calum grins, trying not to seem too enthusiastic as he continues the conversation, but he already likes Michael and wants to hang out with him for the rest of the evening. They stand and chat for a while, moving from All Time Low's music to favorite bands they have in common. 

Michael's got a really nice speaking voice, almost nicer than his singing voice. Calum listens attentively as Michael tells him about how he tried to sing and play the guitar in a school performance once, but threw up before he could. They laugh together, joking around easily and Calum starting to wish he'd talked to Michael sooner. Now that he has him, though, he doesn't really want to stop talking to the other boy.

Unfortunately, time isn't on his side.

"5, 4,-" The crowd's volume rises as it starts to chant the countdown. People are huddling together, laughing and gazing up at the sky expectantly. Michael does the same, and Calum takes a moment to look at his profile- his long eyelashes and soft skin- before turning to do the same. "2, 1, Happy New Year!"

Deafening booms accompanied by colorful sparks light up the sky. Calum laughs along with the crowd's cheering. He feels strangely affectionate towards his new friend (at least he hopes he's made a new friend instead of just scaring off the only kid his age). Michael turns to him, wishing him a Happy New Year with a soft smile, and hopes to God he's not being awkward when he leans forward and brushes his lips against Michael's cheek (it's softer than he thought). 

Given Michael's immediate blush and look of surprise, but delight, Calum stops doubting himself.

He pulls out his phone, hoping it’s not dead it, and gives it to Michael to enter his number in. Michael does the same, and they preoccupy themselves with swapping numbers and taking selfies to put a face next to their contact name. Calum sticks his tongue out in his selfie and looks over to see Michael smiling adorably for his. It kind of makes him want to kiss the other boy's cheek again, but instead he's motioning for them to go back inside.

Michael eagerly follows, chattering about how they better actually text each other. 

"I definitely will," Calum laughs. "Don't worry about me. You'll get tired of how much I’m gonna text you. I'll send you random blurry pictures of the sky at night, and embarrassing selfies in the morning."

Michael leads him to the couch in front of the karaoke stage and they sit down, knees knocking together. Calum checks his phone. "So. It's 12:20 am in 2015. What do we do now?"

Michael grins a little mischievously. "Live it up, just because?"

Calum laughs at the song reference. They continue to chat softly, both a little tired from the all the excitement. Calum's heart is filling up with happiness and he's trying to be casual about the fact that it's Michael causing it. He's glad he got to sing with Michael, got to meet him and talk to him. It's cliché, but he hopes this doesn't just end today, that they'll go back to their respective homes after winter break ends and never talk again. He wants this to be the beginning, the start of  _something_  with this fantastic new boy he's just met. 

Michael's eyes are shining like two moons when he listens to Calum speak, hanging on to every word, and he's still got a faint blush on his face, so Calum thinks they'll be okay.  

 

 


End file.
